My name is Dr. Shannon Finnegan and I am a wildlife biologist for Koniag Native Corporation in Kodiak, Alaska, where I carry out Sitka black-tailed deer and brown bear research to help inform management decisions. This project includes developing new tools to determine wildlife population estimates, to assist with harvest strategies and food security for Native communities. Additionally, I have developed and implemented a bear education and outreach program in rural communities across the Kodiak Archipelago. I conducted my PhD research on Kodiak and Afognak islands, where I spent four years studying bear and elk movement, dietary and energetic ecology in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and numerous Native Corporations. My previous research experience includes large carnivore conservation and management in South America, Asia and Southern Africa, where I often worked alongside Tribal communities on wildlife conflict mitigation programs.
